From Amari Cooper to Deshaun Watson

BEREA — The latest offseason of questions for the Browns started after their 7-10 season ended weeks ago. They know they have work to do in order to improve that final record next season.

To get an idea on how they might approach the upcoming weeks and months, let’s assess how the free-agent signings and trades made last offseason panned out for them. This won’t take into account the draft picks the Browns made last April. Nor will it take into account any moves made once the season started, such as the Deion Jones trade or any number of other linebacker signings.

This is focused on what happened in the months between the end of the 2021 season and the start of the 2022 season. You may have heard of one of the moves, because it only became arguably the biggest story in the NFL and hung over the entire summer after it was made.

However, Deshaun Watson wasn’t the only player the Browns acquired in that time. It’s time to assess how those moves panned out.

Corey Bojorquez, punter

Bojorquez averaged 48.5 yards per punt, with a net of 41 yards. Signed as a free agent from the Green Bay Packers, he certainly had his moments in his first year in Cleveland. The biggest of those came after the Week 17 game at Washington, when he was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week, one of three Browns players to receive the honor this season. Bojorquez’s biggest issue was consistency, with the ability to follow up a great punt with a less-than-great one with some regularity.

Grade: B-minus

Jacoby Brissett, quarterback

Brissett is the high achiever of last offseason’s acquisitions. Signed as a free agent after a season in Miami a day after the trade to acquire Watson was made, it was always the assumption that Brissett would be the quarterback for whatever time Watson missed due to a league suspension. When the league and Watson agreed to an 11-game ban, there were plenty of calls to try to go out and acquire another quarterback to come in and start. The Browns trusted Brissett, though, and he certainly validated that trust in a lot of ways. Although the team went 4-7 in Brissett’s 11 starts, the offense was ranked in the top 10 in total yards and rushing yards, and just outside of the top 10 in scoring during his starts. Brissett showed teams — which including the Browns — looking for a reliable No. 2 quarterback that he’s more than capable of handling the job. The only things preventing an “A” here are both the team’s record and some late-game interceptions — against the Jets, Falcons and Chargers — in early season losses.

Grade: B-plus

Taven Bryan, defensive tackle

One can see what the Browns were going for when they signed Bryan to a one-year deal last spring. They saw a former first-round draft pick looking for a change of scenery after it didn’t work out with his original team — the definition of a reclamation project with a low-cost, high-ceiling potential. The vision, though, never matched the reality with Bryan. In fact, he symbolized what was a season-long struggle for the Browns at defensive tackle. Although made a career-high three sacks, he also was part of a run defense that was porous for the final 14 games, in large part because of disappointing production from the defensive tackles.

Grade: D

Jadeveon Clowney, defensive end

There was a question about whether or not Clowney would be back for the 2022 season after having had a productive 2021 season on his first one-year deal with the Browns. He took it all the way to May 22 of last year before finally agreeing to sign up for a second season in Cleveland. That second season almost certainly will be his last with the Browns after the way it ended, with him essentially being suspended for the season finale in Pittsburgh for his comments to Cleveland.com. When he was on the field, Clowney actually seemed engaged, even if that didn’t show in the stats with just two sacks. The problem was that he missed four games in September and October with an ankle injury, then missed another one in December due to a concussion. So, in summation, it’s pretty much the quintessential Jadeveon Clowney experience. If the sack numbers would’ve been higher, it would’ve been easier to overlook the other things.

Grade: C

Amari Cooper, receiver

Considering the cost of a good top-line receiver on the free-agent or trade market, the Browns pulled off a heist of the Dallas Cowboys when they acquired Cooper last March for two fifth-round picks and a swap of sixth-rounders in last year’s draft. The Browns got great production, both on and off the field, from Cooper. It wasn’t just the 1,160-yard, 76-catch season earning him high marks this past season. It was a level of professionalism Cooper brought as well. That showed in the way he battled through the final five games of the season despite sustaining what he called a core muscle injury in early December. The injury clearly impacted his ability to play at 100% on a play-by-play basis, but he also didn’t allow it to prevent…